The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has sympathised with residents affected by the renewed wave of violence, displacement, and destruction of farmlands across several communities in the state.
Alia, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, assured citizens that the Federal Government had not turned a blind eye to the crisis.
He also noted that the recent visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, was a testament to ongoing efforts to restore peace.
“I sympathise deeply with the people who have lost loved ones, homes, and their farmlands. It is painful,” Alia said.
The governor provided a chilling update on the evolving nature of the violence, saying the crisis had long shifted from the farmer-herder clashes to targeted attacks by gunmen posing as herders.
“Before now, we were talking about farmer-herder crisis. Now, it has graduated into something else — the attackers no longer come with cows, but with AK-47s and AK-49s,” he said.
He described the attackers as “armed herders” whose goal, he alleged, was to invade, kill, and occupy.
“They attack, they kill, and after one or two weeks, people now come back to occupy. That’s what we’re facing,” he added.Governor Alia however did not rule out internal collaboration between some residents and the attackers.
“It is very possible that members of the state have been recruited into the external militia. We can’t deny that,” he said.
The governor noted that the names of suspected collaborators had already surfaced in investigations.
“A thief will not just come into a community unless there is someone within who lives nearby. There are some bandits within these territories,” he added.The governor also insisted that the President had not stopped efforts in securing the state from what he described as “blood-thirsty marauders.”
According to him, the number of local government areas previously overrun by attackers has significantly reduced due to federal intervention.
“If he [President Tinubu] didn’t have an understanding of what is going on, he wouldn’t be giving us full support,” the governor said.
He added, “Seventeen local governments out of 23 were under siege. We fought it down to nine, then to six, and now to three. That progress was due to the support we got from the Federal Government.”
According to him, after a particularly severe wave of attacks, the Presidency deployed three special security units to the state, which helped dislodge the invaders from several communities.
“Those who had occupied the spaces in the local governments had to leave,” Alia stated.Despite the governor’s reassurances, the spate of attacks has not relented.
On Friday, June 15, 2025, suspected herdsmen launched a night assault on the Yelewata community in the Guma Local Government Area, leaving at least 59 people dead, including military and civil defence officers who attempted to protect the residents.
The gruesome attack is the latest in a series of killings that have continued unabated in recent months.
In April 2025, suspected herdsmen killed about 60 residents in coordinated attacks across Ukum and Logo LGAs, while in May, another 42 people were confirmed dead in Gwer West LGA following similar raids.
